Its 1.30am on a Monday morning and I'm sat in the dark, with a hot water bottle (in this heat!!) after suffering yet another ibs episode with cramps and ibs-d. I'm a long time sufferer and know my triggers very well, which is always anxiety. Whether it be anxiety from real concerns or anxiety because of the ibs. I take Mebeverine and it does help. But it doesn't help if the anxiety is that strong, it won't stop the brain to gut signals enough to stop the cramps. So, has anyone tried anything else from their GP that has 100% stopped cramping? If I could wave a magic want over the anxiety disorder to make it go away, I know the ibs would be nonexistent. And whilst I have done courses in CBT and know the tools, most of the time they are useless and the cramps and the ibs-d feel like it's uncontrollable.Any advice would be hugely appreciated.
Ibs-d & cramping advice. : Its 1.30am on a... - IBS Network
Ibs-d & cramping advice.
Hi Crystal89, Have you talked to your doctor/s about anti anxiety meds? I have anxiety as well, which I know probably started all of my IBS problems. I currently take Zoloft, which is usually prescribed for depression but works on my anxiety. If I have an IBS flare I take dicyclomine (Bentyl), which works the same as Mebeverine.
Please talk to your doctor/s about your anxiety. Hoping they can help!!
Lee8
Hi Lee,Thank you for your reply. I'll be honest I hadn't thought much about taking meds for the actual anxiety. My anxiety is so sporadic too and always irrational. I'll be honest I'm proper scared to take antidepressants because I hear how they can actually just make you feel numb and the side effects can be a little dicey. I wouldn't want to numb myself,you know? How have you found taking Zololoft?
I recognise the terror. I finally slept at 3am after seeing you post. Nothing works with cramps, starting to look at non medical approaches. I heard of sertraline. I’ll ask my gp.
It's funny because how I've spent today, which is incredibly tired as I finally fell asleep at 4.30am and had to get up at 6,is actually worse than if I just chilled out last night and didn't face cramps. It's as if I subconsciously create the situation I'm feeling anxious about, almost to be in control of it. Does that make any sense? I'm going to call my GP on Wednesday, when I'm working from home. It takes about a year to get through on the phone. Please let me know how you get on, and I'll do the same. My life would be so very different if I wasn't always concerned about the ibs.
Last night I took a different approach to going to bed and expecting to sleep. I was able to do some work until about 2 to keep my mind off it then watch a bit of an old favourite film. Slept 3-7:30 but for some reason today it does not feel like I slept at all. Weird, and I'm a wreck now and with a horrid nagging pain in my gut that is not going to help at all. Thankfully I'm retired so no work worries. It's a very good day -and now rare- when I get out of the house by 9.
My life has been completely destroyed by IBS, I'm fighting to hold on to any of it. GP can only prescribe pills -I get ideas here. Tried NHS111 in desperation on Saturday (all-nighter on Friday). OOH GP who called back said 'sorry can't help -I can't refer and I can't prescribe' and put the phone down. 😱
The NHS isn’t fit for purpose unfortunately. I suffer from chronic rhinitis and I’m convinced there’s a connection between this and my IBS/gut microbiome so I’m trying to improve my symptoms with dietary changes.
Until that clicks I’m having to take hay fever medication all year round to control symptoms which have caused repeated ear infections and scarring on my ear drum.
There’s around 2 years between developing IBS and hay fever in my thirties.
May as well be speaking to a brick wall when it comes to my GP though. Never even sent me for allergy testing. I paid privately for homeopathic tests instead. ☹️
Oddly, I was referred to the ENT specialists last year, finally got an appointment this year and I also have chronic allergic rhinitis. I never take anti histamines as don't like the idea of taking tablets but I do have a nasal spray. I was always using Pirinase all year round and after this failed to work after some time, I was then put onto Avamys from the GP and now Mometasone from the ENT. As longs as I use the spray most mornings, I have zero symptoms. Might be worth to see if you can get a referral. You will be waiting a while but it was definitely worth it in my case.
I also have dust mite allergy and hayfever. There is a link between allergies, PMDD, migranes and IBS, a migraine doctor told me, they are all on the serotonin axis whatever that means 
No doubt something to do with the vagus nerve?! I never really connected rhinitis with gut issues though, why do you think that? I think cheese can also make asthma/mucus worse..
Hi, have you tried hypnosis? I bought the Nerva hypnosis app, £99 for a year, although they send you a link for 33% off. I was pretty sure my IBS wasn't anxiety related, however I do believe in hypnosis so I bought it. It consists of a daily reading, and a 15/20 minute hypnosis session which you listen to, as many times a day as you like. I used it at bedtime, because although I can easily fall asleep on the sofa watching a film, the minute I put my head on the pillow I become wide awake and all the negative thoughts/worries whirl round in my head like a washing machine! There is also a daily 5mins breathing exercise to calm you down. Several times i fell asleep during the hypnosis, which is very unusual because usually I can lie awake for hours. It taught me how to breathe correctly, deep calming breaths, not the usual short ones I was doing without realising it.
I used it for the initial recommended 6 weeks, then there's a follow up programme, all included in the initial outlay. It didn't cure my IBS which I am pretty sure is diet/physical related rather than anxiety, but I think its worth every penny in helping with anxiety. I have it on my phone, and if I'm restless and unable to sleep, I chose one of my favourite hypnosis sessions, put my phone on my pillow, relax my breathing and hopefully doze off. There seems to be a strong link between the Vagus nerve and digestive disorders, and I'm sure our symptoms are made much worse by anxiety. Hope this helps.
So sorry to here your problems i have the same 👍
Hi Crystal
I take Amitriptyline which in larger doses is an antidepressant but in smaller doses helps with the pain and the Brain to gut messages., helps with sleeping and generally calms me down a bit I only take it when I have a flare up but my flare ups can last a few months at a time. I have had IBS since I was 18 am now 64. I think my anxiety was from always thinking so much pain it has to be something way worse something deadly with this much pain and all the tests and nothing coming up they must be missing something. But here I still am so now I accept the fact that it is IBS and I haven't died from it after all this time and even though it is a horrible beast of a thing it's not deadly so that helps once I have thought it through with the anxiety.
Hope that helps a bit
Deborah
I’m on sertraline for menopause related anxiety etc. I put in ff taking it as the leaflets that comes with it had so many possible side effects and things you can’t do like no grapefruit and no ibuprofen. Then I did and for first 3 weeks nothing but nausea then as that lessened I felt a wee bit spaced out but persevered. 8 months on and no anxiety. I’ve put on a kilo but really no other side effects. It has improved my life
I’m wondering if you might benefit from yoga, I’m planning on joining a class near me very soon because I’m not a particularly anxious person but I think I have a lot of nervous energy which contributes to my IBS.
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